Upcoming projects: My winter coat

I am going to hold myself to planning out my seasonal sewing by quarter this year (see my Thinking ahead post from November).

Right now, I'm finishing up a set of pajamas for my daughter that I hope/expect to be able to give her for Christmas. I've had the fabric for a few months--it's a Yo Gabba Gabba flannel, and she gets excited every time that she's in the sewing room and sees it. She starts pointing to the characters and calling them out. "Muno!" "Toodie!". It's adorable. I am really looking forward to having her unwrap the pajamas and seeing her Gabba fabric in pajama form, which she can wear. We'll be spending the holidays at my parents' house in San Diego, so these pajamas will be my final completed project for 2013. Once we return to Seattle, my sewing calendar will be wide open.

I need a coat. In San Diego, I rarely wore anything warmer than an unlined jacket. I do own a coat--one that I bought on clearance at Old Navy 6 or 6 years ago, and it's pretty warm and flattering, but the style is very dated now. I am going to sew a coat (a phrase that one year ago, I'd never thought I'd type).

My pick for a coat pattern: HotPatterns Deco-Vibe Retro-Fabulous coat

When this pattern was released a year or so ago, I thought that it was a really cool looking coat, but I didn't purchase it, given that I didn't think it would get much wear in San Diego. However, when we moved to Seattle, I think it was one of the first patterns that I bought.

I already have purchased fabric for the coat: red wool for the shell, and a printed charmeuse for the lining. I will be interlining it, too--my first time interlining anything. I am simultaneously really excited about  and feeling nervous about this project.

I haven't seen this coat blogged or reviewed yet, so I will be a bit of a guinea pig in that department. Luckily, the pattern appears to be easy fitting, which is what I want so that I can wear it over a sweater or multiple layers. I'd much rather spend my time on the detail work of the coat than haggling with fit issues.

Winter is here

Because "winter is here" is so much more original than "winter is coming" at this point, right?

Self-directed snark aside, I am experiencing my first "real" winter here in Seattle. I was actually born in Chicago, but we moved to San Diego when I was four years old. Since then, I've lived my entire life in the state of California (bouncing a couple of times between San Diego and the Bay Area). You just flat-out don't see temperatures of "27" in most parts of San Diego, let alone have days with high temperatures of 36. I see an upcoming low temp of "19" degrees Fahrenheit. I don't think I've ever actually been outside in 19 degree weather. I have no idea what that feels like.

When we told people that we were going to be moving to Seattle, the general consensus was "It's so rainy up there!" said to us with a tone indicating that we might melt from a little moisture. The rain really hasn't been a big deal; when it rains, it's usually overnight or in the early morning. We do have a fair number of overcast days up here. I've been told that we're having a dry fall, so maybe I haven't experienced the "real" rain yet.

The cold, on the other hand, is much greater than I expected. I'm not complaining about it--it's like a novelty to us so far. "OMG! So this is what 27 degrees feels like!" We haven't had any snow yet, but I've been told that the community that we live in does typically get a few inches of snow per year. Up here, people aren't used to snow and apparently, all hell breaks loose when it does snow.

Things that I've learned about cold weather in the past few weeks:

• Scarves: They're not just fashion accessories!
• An unlined/denim jacket does not cut it for warmth below 45 degrees.
• I never thought I'd write this, but I really want to make a coat. A lined and interlined coat. (Yes, I have a pattern, fabric, etc.)
• If you leave your car sitting outside at a Park and Ride all day in 30-something degree weather, you'll need to sit in your car with the engine running for 10 minutes while your defroster de-ices your windows enough to actually drive home.

Also, water freezes when it's this cold! Really, like puddles and stuff. Check out this "puddle" in a parking lot that I walk through to get to my office in the mornings:

That's ice! A squirrel could ice skate on that puddle! Can you tell that this is all still hugely entertaining to us? I'm probably going to explode with excitement the first time that I see snowflakes.

Oh, to be in your late 30's and experience winter weather for the first time...